National Museum damaged by hailstorm

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A freak hailstorm in Canberra caused a ceiling to collapse at
the National Museum of Australia late today.

The museum would remain closed tomorrow while the damage was
assessed, a spokesman said.

He said an administration block at the popular tourist
attraction was damaged when intense storms swept through the
national capital shortly after 4pm (AEDT).

There was no damage to the museum's valuable collection of
Australian materials and artefacts.

"What appears to have happened is that there's been some
blockage in the drainage on the roof, in the guttering. There's
been a build-up of hail and water and that's crashed through," the
museum's director of public affairs Dennis Grant said.

"The damage has been confined to the administration block, so
the collection is safe and secure."

Mr Grant could not put a figure on the damage, which he said was
"all repairable".

There was no one in the administration area when the ceiling
came down.

Strong winds, lightning and heavy rain lashed the capital for
about half an hour today, and the lawns of Parliament House were
coated in hailstones up to one centimetre in diameter.

By 6pm (AEDT) the sun was shining again after the short downpour
that delivered only 11mm of rain to Canberra, which is experiencing
drought.

The ACT Emergency Services Agency said its volunteers received
22 calls for help following the storms, with Canberra's southern
suburbs the worst affected.

Most requests for assistance were for minor flooding damage and
fallen trees, a spokesman said.

A severe thunderstorm warning remains in force for the ACT and
surrounding regions.

A spokesman for the Bureau of Meteorology said showers and
thunderstorms were likely during the next few days.

The National Museum, opened in 2001, is considered one of
Australia's most iconic buildings, known for its distinctive
architecture and prominent location on Lake Burley Griffin.